From the Roku Ultra to Amazon Fire TV, these are the best streaming devices

While virtually all TVs ship with smart features these days, they may not be the features you want, as many streaming services are only available via external hardware. The best solution: Buy a worthy streaming media player. The problem is, a veritable smorgasbord of available choices makes this a more complicated and daunting task than ever before.

With TVs offering 4K resolution and High Dynamic Range (HDR), you want to make sure you buy a streamer that is compatible, but that’s only the start. You also want to make sure that the streaming services you care about (and the content you want to watch) can be easily found, without having to scour the web for hours. This article serves up the cream of the crop — the best streaming devices out there — so you can get the absolute most from your streaming experience.

Our pick

Roku Ultra

Why should you buy this: It’s the best streamer on the market, and it’s affordable to boot.

Prior to announcing its new line of streamers in October, Roku already held the top spot on our list, with the Roku Premiere+ earning the imaginary blue ribbon. Boasting support for 4K playback and HDR color reproduction, the Premiere+ was pretty much the ultimate set-top box when it launched at $100.

The Ultra sports an Ethernet port to help improve connection speeds and a MicroSD card slot to show people pictures from your most recent vacation (or whatever). It also has a USB port, so you can view content from any compatible device. The box itself has a “lost remote” button that will trigger a tone from the remote (even though we all know it’s under the couch), and said remote has both a headphone jack and dedicated power/volume buttons that can control TV volume, depending upon the model.

Night Listening mode automatically adjusts volume scene-by-scene to avoid waking up the kids. And if you ever read anything we have written about Roku, you know we love the Roku OS. From the biggest library of apps (aka “Roku channels”) around to an incredible cross-channel search function, there is no digital ecosystem that can compete.

We won’t fault you if you decide to save some money and go with the new Roku Streaming Stick+. After all, you get many of the same great features for less. But we think the Ultra is in a class of its own. Either way, Roku rules the roost.

Most of the products on this list are squarely focused on streaming video, but despite the “TV” in its name, the Nvidia Shield TV takes a different approach. The device features 4K resolution and HDR streaming capabilities based on the Android TV platform, but at its heart, the Shield TV is designed with gamers in mind.

More than 200 games are available to play via Android TV, with many exclusive to the Shield TV. If you’re a PC gamer, the ability to stream PC games to your Shield TV while you kick back on the couch makes it an even more attractive option. The base version, which sells for $200, includes just 16GB of storage, but $300 gets you 500GB, along with microSD and micro USB slots. The included controller — which Nvidia has revamped — provides a familiar feel to experienced console gamers.

For 4K streaming, Netflix, Vudu, UltraFlix, Amazon Video, and YouTube are currently supported, with HDR support available on select services. For HD streaming, many more options are available, including HBO Now, Twitch, CBS, FOX, and Vimeo — basically anything in the Google Play store. Many of these apps can easily be searched using the built-in Voice Search feature. Live TV is available via Sling TV as well as PlayStation Vue, thanks to a recent update that brought the streaming service to Android TV devices.

For $8 a month,GeForceNOW allows users to stream games to their Shield at 1080p resolution, but performance is dependent upon internet speed. On the audio side, the Nvidia Shield TV supports 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, as well as Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound. High-resolution audio is also supported, with some formats supported natively and others supported via pass-through.

After spending two years as an afterthought in the streamer market due to a lack of 4K support, the Apple TV is back and better than ever. With a bevy of cool features, it’s a no-brainer for Apple devotees and a worthy (if spendy) competitor to high-end offerings from Roku, Amazon, and Google.

The new Apple TV 4K has a few tricks up its sleeve, beginning with its A10X Fusion processor, which is superfast. Put it this way: The only thing holding this box back speed-wise will be your internet connection. For those with iPhones, iPads, and Apple laptops, there is a cool option that allows you to copy login info directly to the Apple TV from those devices, which drastically reduces the amount of time spent entering passwords. Plus, if you had a thirdi or fourth-generation Apple TV, it will automatically sync your previous TV OS layout to make life simpler.

You can use Siri to search for content, including cross-platform searches, though Apple’s library of apps isn’t as diverse as, say, Roku’s. You still have access to heavy hitters like Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, and more recently, Amazon Prime Video (though the app is half-baked compared to other apps on the device). Plus, you’ll have access to the iTunes store and your entire iTunes library. You can also use intuitive questions and statements for voice-controlled search (“Show me 4K movies on Netflix”) instead of resorting to awkward jargon.

As far as picture quality goes, the Apple TV can’t be beaten. In addition to 4K, it supports HDR in both Dolby Vision and HDR10, so when you select the right content, it truly looks incredible. There’s one drawback: The box forces your TV into HDR mode, so standard dynamic range content ends up looking darker than it usually would (though rumor has it that the yet-to-be-released tvOS 11.2 update will solve this issue). Is the Apple TV 4K worth its hefty price tag? We’re on the fence there, but if you’re one of those “All Apple Everything” types, this is the streaming device for you.

If you’re reading this article and every single device sounds like something you want, the Fire TV (specifically the new model) might be for you. It doesn’t have every feature of the other streamers on this list, but it offers a compelling mix of some of the best features available.

Like many of the other streamers here, the Fire TV supports 4K resolution and HDR playback via HDR10, though not Dolby Vision. When it comes to gaming, the Fire TV also sits in the middle of the pack. It’s not a gaming-focused device like the Nvidia Shield TV, but it’s much better for gaming than any Roku model thanks to the available gaming controller (plus, Amazon’s selection features popular titles like Minecraft and Shovel Knight, while Roku’s comprises a bunch of generic games). Amazon even sells a version of the Fire TV that bundles in the gaming controller.

In terms of content, you won’t find quite as many apps as Roku devices, but all of the big players are here. In addition to Amazon’s own sizable library of content, Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now offer on-demand content, while Sling TV and PlayStation Vue are available for live TV. As a bonus, the Fire TV version of PlayStation Vue offers an interface that is almost equivalent to the PlayStation 4 experience. If you’re looking to stream in 4K, however, you are limited to Amazon and Netflix content.

While Google has pulled YouTube support for Amazon devices, there is a workaround (for now). The Fire TV supports web surfing through the Firefox and Amazon Silk browsers, both of which are available in the Amazon App store, and you can use Firefox to access YouTube that way (it’s blocked on Silk). Plus, both browsers feature a full experience similar to desktop or mobile browsers, replete bookmarks and curated home pages, plus the ability to browse via voice search.

The price of the new Fire TV is currently just $70, making it an even better option for those who feel most comfortable with the Amazon ecosystem.

If you don’t have a 4K- or HDR-enabled television, you obviously don’t need to spend close to $100 on a device that streams in 4K. Similarly, if all you’re looking to do is stream Netflix, you don’t need to buy a device that offers zillions of unnecessary apps. Luckily, the Roku Express offers basic functionality for a basic price, without extraneous bells or whistles.

The cheapest product in the Roku lineup (and the cheapest item on this list), the Roku Express is understandably limited when compared to many of the other products, but it’s still pretty loaded for the price. More than 1,000 apps are available, including many we previously mentioned like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and HBO Now, as well as both Sling TV and PlayStation Vue. The Express also includes a traditional AV input cable — remember, the red, yellow, and white plugs? — so it’s your only option if you want to stream to a TV without an HDMI input.

The interface is just as user-friendly as any other Roku model, and while the Express isn’t as powerful as its siblings, it’s still more than functional. Roku’s recent update boosted the power of the Express by five times, so navigation is noticeably smoother than before. If you’re looking to add some smart features to an older TV, this is a cheap and effective way to do so. The Express is also a nice choice for a second or third TV that doesn’t need a glut of features.